Summer Reads II

I went through a week there where I started and stopped four new books because I couldn’t get into them…here are the ones that finally kept me reading!

Defending Jacob by William Landay

This is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. I pinned it a while ago and finally got around to reading it. (Sidenote: isn’t it funny how we use “pinned” as a verb for Pinterest now and everyone knows what we mean?) The local district attorney’s son, Jacob, is accused of killing a classmate. Jacob’s parents are convinced of his innocence and will stop at nothing to prove it. Oh, and did I forget to mention, Jacob comes from a long line of murderers? Is it genetic? Did he do it? There’s not much more I can tell you without giving too much away. It’s an awesome page-turner!

Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple

This is also one of my favorite books that I’ve read recently. It was so unique! Told from the daughter, Bee’s, point of view, it’s truly the story of Bernadette, her mother. Bernadette is “lost” in two ways: the first is her mind, the second is she is truly missing. Bernadette was a famous Macarthur-grant winning architect when she was young before she had Bee. Something terrible happened to her professionally and she…lost her mind. She then struggled with infertility before she finally had Bee which just added to her mental health issues. She finally disappears on a long-awaited trip to Anarctica and Bee will stop at nothing to find her. I couldn’t put it down…loved it!

Her Last Breath by Linda Castillo

This is the fourth in the Amish murder mystery series featuring Detective Kate Burkholder. I love this series. It’s particularly fun because the books are set in Ohio, near where I live. Kate is investigating a hit and run accident involving a truck and an Amish buggy. The accident killed one adult and two children and left one child struggling for life in the hospital. When Kate realizes it wasn’t an accident, she is frantically trying to find out who did it. It was an excellent read! I highly recommend this series if you like murder mysteries.

Right now I’m finishing up Goldfinch by Donna Tartt…more on that soon! What are you reading this summer?

5 responses to “Summer Reads II”

My summer has been so ridiculously busy thus far but we are going camping soon and I’m hoping to get some reading in.
I am reading Good Cop Bad Daughter by Karen Lynch. It is really good I just haven’t had time to stop and read it!
Thanks for this list. I have some suggestions now for my trip!

Defending Jacob sounds really interesting! I’m adding it to read soon, for sure! I’m glad to hear you liked, “Bernadette.” I’ve seen a lot of interest in it, but I’m still not sure. I’ll have to give it a try.

I just finished the Legend/Prodigy/Champion trilogy by Marie Lu at the insistence of my 12 year old reluctant reader. It was a fun series, and honestly, anything that keeps her interested past the first chapter- let alone through 3 books- is a winner in my eyes.

Last night I started The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton. I found it on my Kindle but can’t remember the premise, so I’m going to be surprised the whole way through.